Variable length torpedo head



INVENTOR. THOMS 0. BOYLE l wf@ C9 T. C. BOYLE VARIBLE LENGTH TORPEDOHEAD Filed Oct. 15,

ll I l May 13, 1952 um. mls Q om TTOR/VE Y Patented May 13, 1952 UNITEDSTATES PATE-Ni' -FFECE VARIABLE LENGTH TORPEDQ HEAD' Thomas C. Boyle,Altadena,Calif. Application Qctober 13, 1949, Serial BT05121382 (Grantedunder the act ci March 3, "1883, Yas amended April 30, 1928; 370 .0, G.A757') 2 Claims.

This invention .relates to torpedo construction and m-ore particularlyto a new and improved exercise head therefor.

It is customary practice to test the power plant and steering mechanismsof torpedoes by substituting an exercise head for the usual war head andgiving the torpedo a trial run or series of such runs. In carrying outsuch tests it is essential that'the exercise head have substantially.the same Weight andY buoyancy characteristics as the war head so thatthe test run will duplicate, as closely as possible, the operatingconditions of the torpedo when used for destructive action. Theseexercise heads are usually hollow shelllike members which are filledwith liquid ballast to provide proper weight. At the end of the testrun, the liquid in the exercise head is automatically expelled throughan outlet valve by air pressure entering the head from. an air flask. Asthe liquid is replaced by air, the weight, of course, isV reduced andthe torpedo becomes buoyant and rises to the surface. This permits thetorpedo to be easily located and recovered.

Exercise heads of this character may be reused for test or practicepurposes so long as they are not damaged and provided they are used toreplace war heads having substantially the same' dimensions and buoyancycharacteristics. In the past any substantial changes in the war head,such as modifications in design, loading, etc., required correspondingchanges in the exercise head which was to serve as a substitute in theexercise runs. This entailed the fabrication and stocking of a largenumber of 'such exercise heads with the attendantV cost in timeymaterials and storage space.

An object of the present invention is to provide a torpedo exercise headthat is adjustable so that it may be used as a .replacement for avariety of war heads. Another object Ais toprovide a head of thischaracterwhose overall length may be changed-'as-required'.

Afurther object is the provision of a torpedo exercise head made up of aplurality of sections which may be individually replaced.

Other objects and attendant advantages of the invention will become moreapparentfrom the following description read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which:

The single ligure is a longitudinal View partly in section showing thestructural details of the invention.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawing the torpedo exercise headof the present invention comprises a closed hollow shell-like struc- 2ture madeup of a pluralityv of sections. These sections 'are rigidlyretained in assembled relation by means hereinafter described. The headincludes a, nosepiece I which may be molded or cast of any suitablematerial and is formed with the usual ogive contour on its forwardexterior surface. Projecting rearwardly from the vogive portion of the.nose and integral therewith is. a cylindrically shaped extension I Ithe outer diameter of which is somewhat smaller than themajor diameterof the nose so that a shoulder .I2 is provided at the juncture ofthenose and extension. Suitable. interior reinforcing ribs may be castintegral. with the. nose. and. extension as shown. A rbody memberlfcylindrical inshape and closed at its rear end in kthe conventionalmanner such as by a plate I d has a bore I5 atfits front endcorresponding to the outer diameter of the extension and is vadapted forvtelescopic engagement therewith. e

A spaced ring I6 which in actual practice-will be of. any suitable widthto provide an exercise head of the desired overall length closely fitsabout the outer diameter of the `extension and is interposed. betweenshoulder.V I 2 and the front end of bodyv I3. Suitable seals Il such asthose of the O ring type made of rubber or similar materialmay beprovided Vas illustrated in order to make a fluid tight construction.

The nose II), body I3 and spacer ring IE may be heldin assembledrelation by a shaft I8 extending axially of the chamber I formed by theassembled members and connected at one end to the-nosepieceand at theotherend to tliebody. As shown in the drawing the left end-of shaft I8extends through an opening in the hub of a Vspider 20 the legsl of whichare rigidly secured. at their extremities to an internal flange 2l inthe nose by bolts 22. Aplate 23V having a central. opening throughlwhich theY end `of the shaft projects slightly may, be attached to thecentral portion ofthe spider by bolts'zi. The projectingr endlof theshaft may be rigidly attached to platev 23 by welding orother well knownmeans..

The opposite end of shaft IS may be supported in a bearing 25 having anaxial opening therethrough. As illustrated, bearing 25 may be castintegral with body i3 and is rigidly supported in its central positionby a pair of oppositely disposed arms 26 extending inwardly at an anglefrom the inner wall of the body to the bearing. Relative rotation of thenose and body members may be prevented by providing the shaft I8 withsplines as shown in the drawing with an appropriately slotted opening inbearing 25 to match the splines on the shaft.

The right end of shaft I8 is internally threaded to receive a cap screw2'! which abuts against a spacing washer 28 interposed between the endof bearing 25 and the head of the screw to prevent longitudinal movementof the shaft, Since shaft I8 is rigidly attached to nose I0 in themanner described above, it will be seen that spacer ring I6 will belocked between the shoulder I2 and the left end of body I3, thusrelative movement of these members will be prevented.

It will be apparent that the overall length of the head may be readilyincreased or decreased to provide a ballast chamber I9 of the desiredcapacity by using a spacer ring I6 ofI the required width with suitablewashers 28. Obviously, if relatively large variations in length are tobe obtained shaft I8 may be modified accordingly or different length capscrews used.

It will be noted that the outside of the forward end of body I3 istapered slightly to a diameter substantially the same as the majordiameter of the nosepiece I0. Thus, when ring I is omitted from theassembly in order to provide a head of minimum length, the end of bodymember I3 will abut against shoulder I2 and there Iwill be a continuoussurface with the proper streamline effect.

With a spacer ring i5 interposed between shoulder I2 and the end of bodyI3 as shown in the drawing the gap resulting from the difference in sizeof the ring and the end of the body may be covered by a tubular skirt 23affixed to the spacer ring by screws Sil and extending rearwardly aboutthe body to maintain the proper streamline effect.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that the presentinvention contemplates an exercise head which may be readily extended inlength as required and, further that such adjustment may be made withoutdestroying or changing the streamline effect which is necessary withthis type of device.

With the exercise head attached to the air flask section of the torpedoin the manner well known in the art, the chamber I9 which extends the4length of the head may be filled with a suitable liquid ballast inorder to provide the proper weight and buoyancy characteristics to thetorpedo to which it is attached. In making the .practice or trial runthe exercise head operates in the well known manner. As the torpedoreaches the end of the run, a valve 3I connected by suitable piping tothe air flask (not shown) is adapted to release air into chamber I9. Thepressure of the incoming air causes an outlet valve 32 to open and theliquid ballast is thus discharged. When a substantial amount of ballasthas been released and the exercise head is filled with air the torpedoto which it is attached becomes more buoyant and risesto the surfacei Itshould be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relatesto only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerousmodifications or alterations may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

The invention described herein maybe manufactured and used by or for theGovernment of the United States of America for governmental purposeswithout the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

1. In an exercise head for torpedoes, a nosepiece, an extension affixedto said nosepiece, a body member in telescopic engagement with saidextension, a spacer ring between said nosepiece and said body, a bearingsupported in said body, a shaft afxed at one end to the nosepiece andsupported at its other end in the bearing, and a threaded member in theend of said shaft engaging the end of thebearing for locking .the shaftagainst longitudinal movement.

2. In an exercise head for any given one of a plurality of torpedoes ofuniform diameter but differing in length; a nosepiece comprising aforwardly pointed ogival hydrofoil portion and a rearwardly extendingcylindrical telescopic portion of uniform diameter less than that of theogival hydrofoil portion, said nosepiece being formed with a rearwardlyfacing annular shoulder at the juncture of said forward and rearwardnosepiece portions; a cylindrical body member having an outer hydrofoilsurface terminating at one end in a forwardly facing annular shoulderdefining an opening telescopically receiving the cylindrical portion ofsaid nosepiece; a spacer ring encircling said cylindrical portionbetween said annular shoulders, said ring being of a width chosen to iixthe overall length of said exercise head commensurate with thc lengthand buoyance characteristics of said given torpedo and being providedwith an exterior hydrofoil surface forming a continuous streamlinecontour with said nosepiece hydrofoil portion and the outer hydrofoilsurface of said body member upon interposition therebetween; andreleasable fastening means drawing said nosepiece and body member into atelescoped positional relationship such that said spacer ring is tightlyclamped between said annular shoulders.

THOMAS C. BOYLE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 901,157 Davis Oct. 13, 19081,998,805 Driggs Apr. 23, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date435,562 Germany Oct. 13, 1926

